


All's Fair

by FoundlingMother



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Teenagers, Bribery, But Really Just Something Simple to Get the Writing Juices Flowing, Don’t copy to another site, M/M, Manipulative Loki (Marvel), Odin (Marvel)'s A+ Parenting, Road Trips, Sibling Incest, Some Plot, Thor (Marvel) is Not Stupid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-25
Updated: 2019-03-25
Packaged: 2019-12-07 15:26:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18236747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FoundlingMother/pseuds/FoundlingMother
Summary: In Loki's opinion, Thor's choice of college is another battleground for Odin and Loki's endless conflict.Then Thor disarms Loki.





	All's Fair

**Author's Note:**

> I asked for a prompt on Twitter and @FiveStillAlive1 provided, "Loki battles (through emotional manipulation and sneakery) with Odin for control of Thor. Either because he thinks Thor will be a useful tool, or because he is not letting that bastard get his brother!" This is kind of that. It's inspired by it. Adjacent to it. It's also inspired by the college admissions scandal, or all the thoughts I was having about how there are legal ways to get your kids into schools without relying on their abilities. Enjoy!

Loki pushes his sunglasses back up the bridge of his nose. “Fancy.”

Thor remains silent and still.

“Perhaps ostentatious would be more appropriate,” Loki mutters.

“He bribed them.”

Loki shrugs. “Not technically.”

“Shut up,” Thor growls.

Loki smothers a smirk, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jeans. Reflected light dances across the glass doors of the new science building—Borson Hall—when they swing open for several exiting students.

Thor sucks in a breath. “I’ve seen enough.” He strides away, fists clenched at his sides.

Loki watches the distance between them grow. “I thought we were going to eat at one of the restaurants on campus,” he calls. Thor does not indicate he’s heard him.

They’ll likely grab fast food a few hours down the road. Nothing Loki will particularly enjoy.

Worth it.

Staring at Thor’s back—his tense shoulders—he knows he got precisely what he wanted.

* * *

Loki shifts impatiently in the passenger’s seat.

“Do you want me to drive?” he asks, eyeing Thor’s clasped hands atop the steering wheel.

“You could just tell me, you know? You don’t have to lie and manipulate.”

Thor stares directly ahead at the car parked opposite them, hardened expression in place.

Loki crosses his legs. “I’m not sure what you’re—”

“Don’t.” Thor’s hands slip from their position. He runs fingers through his hair, partially grown out after he shore it off before Thanksgiving break. “I know you knew about this before we came here. I know you wanted me to see that building because you knew how I’d feel about—” He frowns, turning to face Loki. “Just… what’s the goal? Do you not want me to go to this school? Are you trying to start an argument between dad and me? Why, Loki?”

Loki purses his lips and avoids Thor’s eyes. He waits.

Thor sighs. He turns the keys in the ignition. The engine hums alive.

Thor drives, joining midafternoon traffic.

* * *

The atmosphere within the car is stifling. Two hours down the road, the highway stretches out before them, nothing but farmland and the occasional filthy gas station town running alongside, leaving Loki hyperfocused on the _tap_ _tap_ of Thor’s left foot. There’s an unspoken test of willpower: Which one of them will cave and turn on the radio? Or perhaps that’s just in Loki’s mind, twisted by bitter, defeated, anxious thoughts, all lodged in his throat.

Thor, in this state, will drive through the night, stopping only to piss in dodgy bathrooms. Nine more hours. _Nine._

Loki’s been caught red-handed blatantly manipulating his brother. There’s no regaining ground. Better to feign indifference—to flip through stations and let music fill the silence—before the tension snaps the delicate threads of sense that keep Loki from exposing the pathetic truth.

“Eleven hours,” Loki whispers.

“You’re talking now?”

Loki bites his lip uselessly, staring at Thor’s faint reflection in the passenger side window. “Driving’s a hassle. You don’t like flying unless you’re the pilot.”

“No…” Thor agrees, frustration diminished by uncertainty.

Thor can be a fool. Dense and dimwitted.

“You don’t even care,” Loki spits. “You were only leaning towards this school because Odin wanted you to attend. To inflate his ego, not because he thought you’d earned it.”

“What the fuck do you want from me, Loki?”

Loki’s palm slaps the armrest protruding from the passenger door. “I want you to care! I don’t want you to leave—” His face floods with heat.

One beat. Two beats. Three.

“Loki,” Thor says gently.

“I need the restroom,” Loki asserts, noticing the rapidly approaching exit and the sign advertising its Shell gas station. Hesitating a brief moment, Thor flicks the turn signal on and takes the off-ramp.

The Shell station’s bathroom is inside, tucked away in a tiny hallway past the line of coolers. Loki abandons Thor at the front of the store, locking himself in the bright, smelly room. It’s clear someone meticulously cleaned it recently, a discovery Loki’s grateful for, but the toilet seat is permanently stained somewhat yellow, and paper towels litter the floor near the trashcan, never adequately discarded.

Loki paces to the sink. He turns it on, splashing cold water in his face. Something to shock his system out of the thought spirals. He grips the edge, trying to focus on unraveling the tightness in his chest.

Waste of time.

The odor is pungent. Loki wrinkles his nose in disgust.

The buzz of the light grates at Loki’s frayed nerves.

The space seems to shrink.

Loki swings back towards the door. He knocks the doorknob downward with his elbow and shoves backward against the heavy wooden surface. The door swings open.

Thor’s leaning on the wall just outside the bathroom, arms crossed and face pulled into a frown. He emerges from his thoughts, eyes landing on Loki.

Loki’s restlessness increases. “Let’s g—”

“You’re right.”

“Always,” Loki acknowledges automatically. Thor’s lips twitch.

“It’s been hard to care about where I’d go to college next year,” Thor admits. “I figured it didn’t matter. I plan on transferring.”

Loki blinks. “Where?”

Thor shrugs. “Wherever you end up attending.”

Loki opens his mouth.

Thor shoves off the wall. “I thought I’d get dad off my back for a while. Suffer the long drives on the weekends. Maybe skip the first or last day of classes for the week. See my favorite person whenever possible.” He captures Loki’s wrist, holding it between them, in the sliver of personal space left. “I don’t want to leave you either, Kiki.” He squeezes.

Loki’s mind races.

Thor’s thumb (the one not pressed against the pulse point on Loki’s wrist) appears, skating across Loki’s cheek. “You’re cute when you blush,” Thor whispers.

“Shut up,” Loki hisses, heart rate skyrocketing.

Thor’s hand settles on Loki’s neck, thumb tracing his jaw. It’s a familiar gesture of affection from Thor—a possessive one, which Loki’s always considered thrilling rather than disagreeable.

“You’ve got to trust me, Kiki.” Loki’s equal parts soothed and embarrassed to hear Thor use his old nickname. For the second time, no less. His brother’s expression remains kind, but his eyes shine with mischief. He knows.

“Now who’s manipulating?”

Thor shrugs again. “All’s fair, right?”

“Are we at war?” Loki simpers.

Thor’s eyes soften, brimming with—

Loki looks away, stomach churning.

“Kiki—”

“Are you guys ok back here?” They both jump. The cashier, a stout woman with greying hair, stands a few feet away. She peers at them, suspicious.

“We’re all good. Sorry.” Thor beams. “Actually, I think I’ll grab a Coke. Want anything, Loki?”

Loki seizes the opportunity to escape. “No. I’ll wait by the car.”

Thor joins him ten minutes later, carrying a bag. He shakes it. “I bought you a water and chocolate bar. We can share the chips.”

Loki nods.

They climb back into the car and drive out of the gas station parking lot. Warm, orange light cast by the sunset makes Thor’s hair glow golden.

They need to have a conversation. Several, even. Thor plans to transfer to Loki’s choice of college? He never meant to leave Loki behind?

Loki fishes out the chocolate—a Snickers bar—from the bag Thor placed in his lap. He runs a finger over the smooth wrapper, reaching a decision.

He slackens the muscles in the arm closest to Thor, letting it lie limp, slightly apart from his leg, palm tilted up.

Seconds later, Thor’s hand blankets Loki’s.

“We’re not a war,” he hums. “And, if you were ever at war with dad, you’ve won. You don’t have to manipulate me into choosing you, Loki. I will choose you every time. I—” Thor swallows. “We are not at war.”

Loki smiles. “But ‘all’s fair,’” he agrees.

Loki twines their fingers together.

**Author's Note:**

> It ends with hand holding! So scandalous!
> 
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